It can be a challenge getting kids to drink enough water, but it's important that they replenish their bodies every day to feel energized and hydrated. Our bodies lose water through sweating, breathing, and digestion so it’s important to encourage proper hydration. Hydration can come from both food and water, providing many benefits for kids growing bodies. Read ways you can encourage your child to drink more water below!
Provide Your Child with a Special Water Bottle
Sometimes a special container is all it takes! Amazon has many water bottles your child can choose from and makes drinking water fun! Having a special water bottle to take around can help kids form the habit of regularly drinking water. Reusable water bottles help cut down on plastic and help keep your bottle cold, so we recommend buying a reusable bottle over bottled!
Don’t Keep Soda or Sugary Drinks in the House
This is important! If you keep sugary drinks at home, your child is more likely to consume more sugar than those who do not keep it in the house. Have soda be a special occasion when you go out to eat and keep it away from their reach. When it’s not in the house, it becomes easier to keep track of how much soda or sports drinks they're consuming.
Encourage Eating Fruits and Vegetables
Your child should be eating fruits and vegetables daily since they have higher water content than other solid foods. This can be a nice way to get additional water without having it in the form of a drink. Encouraging your child to eat more fruits and vegetables can be easy! Introduce fruits and vegetables to your children from an early age so it becomes habitual in their diet, along with drinking water.
Set Up a Rewards-Based System in the Beginning
If your child is struggling to learn the benefits of drinking water regularly or is hesitant to drink more, set up a rewards-based system to help make it a habit. Once your child drinks water for 7 days in a row, they get to go to the store and pick out their favorite drink of choice!
Explain the Benefits of Regular Water Consumption
Explaining why drinking water is healthy can be a great way to help kids understand the importance of staying hydrated. YouTube has many videos showing the importance of drinking water and can help kids understand why they should be drinking water in the first place!
Infuse Water with Natural Flavoring
Water can be boring at times- so to jazz it up! Add some fresh strawberries, cucumbers, lemons, limes or herbs like mint to make water more enjoyable. The dull flavor can be undesirable for most kids, so enhancing the flavor naturally is a great way to make drinking water stress-free and manageable. Have your children pick out some fruits and herbs that they would like to try and see what flavor combinations you can come up with!